In Dallas, Texas, a group of dedicated animal rescuers had pursued an elusive pup who was determined to live in a patch of woods in a city park.

Recently, one of the equally determined rescuers was approached by the very dog she was looking for, who proceeded to bark at her and move deeper into the woods.

The rescuer, Marina, found herself surprised by the dog’s behavior. “He’s never acted like that before,” she said. “I was worried that maybe he was sick or something happened to him.”

When Marina followed the pup into the woods, she began to hear yapping, and realized that the stray dog she had intended to rescue knew of a group of pups who needed Marina’s help even more than he did.

Beneath a burned tree near a muddy creek bed, Marina found a litter of cold, hungry puppies. The 10 puppies were accompanied by their exhausted mother, and each seem to owe their survival to the evasive stray who led the animal rescuers to the fresh litter who clearly needed shelter and medical attention.

Global News reports that “the puppies and their mom, plus the abandoned dog now aptly named Hero are all safe and sound in a foster home.”

Learn more in the videos below, one of which tells the story in vivid detail, while the other shows lots and lots of rescued puppies!

This video features an abbreviated version of the story above, but with more footage of the pawecious puppies!!!